


This is Hell (Alternate Ending)

by HoodedAndromeda



Series: "Doctor Faustus" Modern AU [4]
Category: Doctor Faustus - Christopher Marlowe
Genre: AU, Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe, An AU Where Faustus Listens to Meph, An AU Where Faustus Repents, Biblical References, Demon!Mephistopheles, Doctor Faustus AU, Doctor Faustus Alternate Ending, Doctor Faustus Modern AU, Grace - Freeform, Human!Mephistopheles, Mephistophilis, Mercy - Freeform, Modern AU, Nor am I out of it, Redemption, Repentance, School Project, Scripture References, Why This is Hell, creative writing project, mephisto - Freeform, mephistopheles - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:54:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21565183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoodedAndromeda/pseuds/HoodedAndromeda
Summary: For my Methods of Teaching Language Arts class, my final project included writing a ten-day lesson plan. The primary part of my lesson plan included a creative writing project wherein students would be tasked with writing an alternate ending to Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” based on one of three prompts. I decided to write an example prompt to use in my class and thought it would be fun to post what I came up with here as well. An alternate title to this piece would be, “If Faustus had taken his PHD in Theology seriously.”"The creative writing project can be written as prose, poetry, or a script. It must be 2-5 pages long, 1.5 or double spaced. It must be typed in Times New Roman, size 12 font. Students must be prepared to defend the choices they made in writing their alternate endings, and why/how their ending could have worked in the context of Marlowe’s play.PROMPT: In Act I, Scene 3, Mephistopheles warns Faustus about the dangers of selling his soul and the pain of damnation. However, Faustus does not take the warnings of Mephistopheles seriously. But what if he had? Write a scene where Faustus heeds Meph’s warnings and does not go through with his plan to sell his soul. "
Series: "Doctor Faustus" Modern AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1302548
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	This is Hell (Alternate Ending)

“So,” Faustus paced lazily around Mephistopheles, “if you’re ‘damned,’ then how are you out of Hell?” Mephistopheles’s human shape was small and unintimidating, and it filled Faustus with unearned confidence. He had almost a full foot of height on the demon, and Faustus was certain that he could easily keep Mephistopheles under his control. Not only that, but Mephistopheles apparently had difficulty speaking around the pointed teeth in his otherwise very human mouth and so had a hint of a lisp. If it hadn’t been for those sharp teeth and the molten-gold irises, Faustus would’ve completely forgotten that he was dealing with a demonic spirit instead of a short, androgynous, twenty-something.

“Out of Hell?” Mephistopheles repeated, soft voice hitching, “out of Hell?” he scoffed, then extended his slender arms, palms facing upwards. “Why, this _is_ Hell!” Mephistopheles suddenly reached out to the man standing before him and snatched his wrists. The sharp, uneven tips of Mephistopheles’s chewed nails threatened to puncture Faustus’s soft flesh, and he pulled back reflexively which only caused the demon to tighten his grip.

“This is Hell,” Mephistopheles continued, amber eyes rolling in their sockets, “and I am _not_ out of it.” He grinned forcefully, baring a mouthful of knife-sharp fangs. Thick, black tears rolled down Mephistopheles’s delicate human face, leaving steaming grey tracks on his pale flesh. Faustus struggled against Mephistopheles’s grip, hissing in pain as claw-like nails bit into the skin of his arms. A high whining sound buzzed uncomfortably in Faustus’s ears, and blinding white spots seared holes in his vision. The skin of Mephistopheles’s palms was cold as ice, and the sensation of his tapered fingers wrapped around Faustus’s arms stung almost as badly as the claw-tips embedded in his flesh. Mephistopheles blinked black tears from his wild yellow eyes and spoke again, struggling to maintain his pained smile.

“I saw the face of God, Faustus,” the demon’s voice shook, “Heaven was my _home!_ ” Faustus felt as though his lungs had filled with smoke and tar, and the inability to breathe drove him to his knees. “Out of Hell,” Mephistopheles sneered in a near-perfect imitation of Faustus’s own voice, “out of Hell, he says!” Mephistopheles suddenly released Faustus’s wrists, but before he could register what had happened, Mephistopheles planted his boot in the center of Faustus’s chest and forced him onto his back. A foggy and disjointed thought floated through his mind, wondering how a creature so small could possess such strength.

“Do you think, John Faustus,” Mephistopheles hissed in his own strange voice, “that I am not tortured with _ten-thousand Hells_ in being deprived of everlasting bliss? Do you think that I am not in agony every second of every hour of every day? Do you think that I am not suffering eternally under the weight of my Sin?” Mephistopheles waited for an answer, but when none came, he removed his foot from Faustus’s chest and took three steps back from the man’s stunned form. The high-pitched buzzing faded from Faustus’s ears, and he managed to blink the white spots away. With considerable effort, Faustus managed to push himself up to a sitting position where he began to work on catching his breath. A little ways to the left, Mephistopheles sniffled.

“Faustus,” he said, wiping black tears from his face with the heel of his hand, “this will be the greatest mistake you ever make. Turn back now and repent. Burn your books. Forget black magic.” There was a long moment of silence.

“I didn’t really believe in Hell,” Faustus spoke at last, his throat burning with the effort of speaking, “I thought it was an old-wives tale. To scare children into behaving.” Mephistopheles snorted.

“If you didn’t believe in Hell,” he put his hands on his hips, “then where did you think I came from?” Faustus had no answer for Mephistopheles. He coughed twice, cleared his throat, then spoke again.

“Is… is it _really_ that bad?” Mephistopheles sighed, then lifted his left hand to his lips, beginning to bite his fingernails.

“You felt only a fraction,” he answered around the chewed edge of a nail, “of what we damned souls feel. It’s so much worse than anyone could ever describe.” Faustus gripped the edge of his desk and pulled himself to his feet, leaning his full weight against the desk to take the pressure off of his still shaking legs. He scratched at his beard for a moment as he tried to decide what he should say next.

“So, what should I do, then…?”

“Pray—confess, repent.” Mephistopheles spat a bitten-off piece of a black nail onto the floor.

“And that will work? That will save me?”

“ _And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved_.”

“That’s Acts, isn’t it?” Mephistopheles nodded, and Faustus felt a pleasantly warm wave of relief wash over him. “Alright, then, that’s what I’ll do.” Faustus hesitated for a moment, then added, “why did you tell me all this?” Mephistopheles did not answer. Instead, he turned his back on Faustus and stepped into the center of the room.

“If you call on me again,” Mephistopheles said, not looking back at Faustus, “I won’t show you the same kindness I showed you tonight.” A burst of crimson light filled the room, and a gust of frigid air forced Faustus back against his desk so hard that he could feel the edge of it bruising his thighs. In an instant, the study was warm and shadowy again. The summoning circle drawn on the floor was gone, and the candles were all extinguished, their wicks not even singed. Faustus moved around his desk, leaving one palm flat on its top for balance, and then let himself drop into his chair. He sat quietly for a moment, staring at the spell-book in front of him. Finally, he turned his eyes up to the ceiling of his study, up toward Heaven, and began to pray.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a slight divergence from my usual "Modern Faustus" content, but I wrote this and I liked it so I figured why not post it? Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
